Space City Scribes

By  Margaret Lea        Growing up, Kristen Kiesling would watch a crime show and want to be a detective or watch a medical drama and want to be a doctor. Her dad owned a commercial greenhouse in a rural setting, and Kristen thought, even back then, that a compost pile full of worms would be a great place to hide a dead body. She grew up near Tulsa, OK but now lives in Katy and is part of our Houston SCBWI chapter.       Kristen heard her fair share of, “You should be a writer,” from teachers throughout the years, but she didn’t see how that could be a viable career, so she got a business degree at University of Oklahoma and worked for IBM. She took a few years off when her kids were born, then got her teaching certification and taught 3rd grade for a couple of years. She has since stopped teaching full time but misses interacting with the kids. She recently became involved with WITS— Writers in the Schools— where she enjo...

  By  Margaret Lea         Many of you already know Julie Hedlund, our January, 2026 speaker. Not only is she a picture book author, she started and runs the 12 X 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge, which helps writers complete a new picture book every month. She began the group in 2012 and had planned for it to be just one year, but it took off and now has about 2,000 members.      Shortly after her first two books came out, Julie applied and was accepted into a bootcamp run by her picture book hero, the legendary Jane Yolen. This bootcamp took place at Jane’s home in Massachusetts. Each of the ten or so attendees brought two works-in-progress for Jane to critique.       As Julie happened to be the first to arrive, she got the first critique. Jane’s daughter, Heidi Stemple, ushered Julie into a room where Jane was sitting in front of a window. Rays of sunlight created a halo effect around Jane, enhanc...

 By Annika Royston     When aiming to be published, it is important to consider which age group can benefit the most from your story’s message. Writing children's books requires packing big lessons into small packages. That’s quite a challenge. An author might have a theme of forgiveness intended for elementary students, unaware that the complexity of their plot is for an older audience.  To avoid this mismatch, it helps to focus on four key story elements that ensure your book is aligned with the grade level of your audience: vocabulary and language complexity, theme and subject matter, character development and relatability, and finally, plot structure and pacing . Adjusting each of these elements is the key to concentrating your book with what publishers are looking for in your target demographic. Let’s take a closer look at three of these elements in action: Vocabulary and Language Complexity   Word choice and sentence structures are huge elements that need ...

By  Margaret Lea    Adam Blackman, like many children's writers, began by making up stories for and with his young son. A specific incident about ten years ago further propelled Adam into the KidLit space. His Kindergartener son picked out pink, light-up, sparkly rhinestone shoes, but when he wore them to school, even in his progressive Brooklyn, NY neighborhood, several kids asked him why he was wearing “girly” shoes. Adam realized that KidLit was the perfect place to let kids know that everyone should have the freedom to express themselves and not be judged for it.        Adam has an MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and worked as a non-profit bookstore manager for seven years. He began engaging with the KidLit community on Twitter after his son’s shoe incident, and he made connections there that led him to writers, agents, editors, mentors and critique groups. Adam stresses that community and networking, especially through SCBWI, can ...

  By  Margaret Lea   Cate Berry, picture book author, will be the speaker at our October 6, 2025 Zoom chapter meeting . She will be speaking on "Secrets to a Long, Unshakeable Career in Publishing." Below is my interview with Cate. For more info on Cate and her work, check out her website at cateberry.com .  When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? What most helped you get there?  It sounds cliché, but reading is what MOST helped me become a published author. Want to write picture books? Read at least 300 before you even begin drafting. I'm serious. There is a rhythm to picture books, a cadence and a "puzzle element" that's absorbed into your subconscious by reading in bulk. This is also true for middle grade and YA. Try and feel your way into the game. You'll also discover which authors, subjects and subgenres speak to you. It's fun to draft. I get it. But while you're building up your chops, keep reading the form. I have taken classes, t...

       By  Margaret Lea        Valerie has been writing poems since her elementary-school days, but not until 2016, inspired by writing a couple of stories for her nieces, did she get the urge to seriously pursue writing. She had some author friends, so she sought out their advice. She also talked with librarians and booksellers, attended classes and conferences, and joined SCBWI and writing groups.       Her debut picture book, LET’S DANCE, was picked up by an editor after a Twitter pitch event. It came out in March, 2020, and went on to win a SCBWI Crystal Kite award. Three months after her debut, she signed with agent James McGowan at BookEnds Literary. She has been with him ever since and very much enjoys working together.       Valerie spent 30 years as an educator. She taught elementary and middle school for many years and then was an instructional coach for other tea...